Fertilizer process and product



Patented May 19, 1953 PATENT OFFICE.

2,639,231 PROCESS momic'r Ennest A. S ow, In, Amhersi. Mis

Nem-girwing. Applicatiiin March 28, 1952-, semmo. 219,212

v 2 Qlaime. 1

This" invention relates in fertiliiers. aml more particularly to a'mixed fertilizer pi'eeess and Mixefi fertilizers are those. comprising mixiflires. as two or more fertilizer materials, An: increase inglxz important class of these mixed fertilize is. that termed oruhde'rst-o'od as complete fertile lizers, anclcharacterized herewfore :by vary ng guaranteed: percentages; ofi the: three,- plani nutriems, nitrogen, phqsphorie; acid and get The manufacture er th se qmnlete fer iliz s; gerierail sbe descri-hee as. the a sembl g, phi-verizi-ne', eeidu et he and b endin ef fertilizer in radients and .ieri isprovidin he men-h ned primary e ential. p ant; nutrients; since. the in- Qent m i he mehui ciure f mixed fertilizers. er: qemmem elz eurpeses. he vai ab lity and e.- leciion f t es raw mate i s undergone raeie l @h' n e li ew the exhaust n of sourcee Qf. Seraph, t ir mpt en for military uses; and the like; compelling, the interruption of or subeien i l; c nge n t e, manufactur n process. Th elimpmwd n i these nutrient; materials of a; very large percentage f makeaweight; me: ser al f subs antially no alue fer the mem re: In. inshqweve an inher nt characterisiico he q ser bed qo pl i fertilizer manufacture.

More recently it hasbeer shown, that for meat; 9 1 a d, crops comlete. fertil zers. sheuld carry the secondary essential; elements; in addition on the primary pl nt nut ients, abbre fi'lehhqn 'dh @m sin in. other Words i laments, i iirQe In, phQsph 'r1u 10. 3199 1h), ole

d1. magnesium. In addition, it 1i ed, hat: a hir i ereu ni l rfQn manganes boron c pper e l lti l wh le helpful. in mesh es; 0 q entit ee, r. cqncentreiiens the. wider or onefou hi ar 1 ,62 m ion, are nonetheless ess ntial: healthy pl'af t grqwth, The 'rrianufeice of; cqmplete fertilizers, has recently been in fluenee'ci also by greater emphasis drrtheir-sew l'qndiry fl'i'ncfiiorijof sdil cqriditionihg dr'more pain tic lerly aeration, moisture retention, arid the like.

Widely disrributeci, practically inexhaust- :l'ble but little-used sources-er biiese nurrie'nt ami soil eonditioninevaiue ere sea Water and-sewage siiid 'e; Seawaiserisknewri to center ariprecrable quantities of the minerals cagli meg enemeasurefii amounts. essential elements assewag siud e nesium endpoms i of, the secondary and 1'' W611}, u hn. t rec' a ca ri r of; a variety IQQ hLQtiIi Slibr ees'nihsiludine-J ilbsta. .e iz qfgthesresserfiiiail; above.v mentioned..., slud es are. veiiiedi for; h en; ui din andrinerti con e iicii erly ini ireaewhenesoil sereidefieiexitr are and me -hQ ,ihelanacim Hammer. methane i'gneyiouelar dQYfiJ-QREQE fojrexe v treating; the nrimery element Q'QtQ-S'SiQm- EI'QIB sea Water hevebeen for: the mqst partphysieall, as by evaporation, and here: prover; impre'etieal. a least fer fertilizer purposes,

Andwhile various forms of sewage sludge hare been used in; isolaied areas anal on a, limited scale, sea water ancisewage sludge havegenemll-y been regarded; as impracliicel and unprofitable raw ma;- terials. for rnixed, fertilizers, 0 that they remain substantiallyumsapped sources ffi ieiitilizer valuesl ljhisinventi'on aims to pravide a; fierfiilizer pracess end-v produci; utilizirigfthese. abundant, largely Wasteci sources in. yield a. base for commercial mixed fertilizers comprised substantially entirely of fertilizer values and meerpor ,ithes pri merry, secondary and subslfiant'ialiy the triee Q1: rarer essential; 'elemefilisl "Ifhe. ihveiitien, aims further to. provide a; fertilizer base; in which, tire nutrients, are in a, form available re the lants; and haiiling physical characteristics brifiial refine: so

In the first phase'df' the invenridn. process, the. potassium, calcium and megiiesium and also the secondary and rarer esseritial elie'inentspresetr'tiin the sea water are extracfteder more particularly precipitated as a ine, Iii addit on the desired initial reaqtion and the nutrient do'i tenti of antibalance in the reaction pio'diict, sea water precipitate, are furthered by the ad ditien of an ammonium ion. I: have deiierr rii'ried: wither that by the use in. mmbiaae-iiom with the ammimium ion of a. soluble ferrocyanide both the. calcium andma ghesium 1911 as we'll a'sifihe potassium ay be pregipitete'd out in srngr dperatiorr.

Accordingly ten 10)" parts (mere 'or less; a

eor'dihg t0 solubility) by weightia'si f a; soluble ferrocyenide arid-fifiieen;("l-5)" parts (moreori byweight of ammqnium chl'qr fe" aredissolvedilr one thous ndi ('reiifl parts by weight of. the sea: water, according to tiheeqiietioiis:

I have iQu-nciatharthe ddiriqn oiialmheh be ds to depress the solubility of the ingredients. z mii also be; accelerate; the eogioacliafrthedqnsi. Aceorqin eixfifty 59;),- or; m rerrgartsi by weight of anyilgwlhuilineii int alcohel;0n+alc0h 1-containstill; waetei, err aqelsene; are: shirt-em ire ml wield;

+ alcohol As above described and illustrated, in the first phase of the invention process the valuable potassium, calcium and magnesium content of the sea Water is separated out by combination with a cyanide ion, and an ammonium ion is added to effect a nutrient ion pairing for such sea water precipitate formin combination and also to furnish a portion of the nitrogen ultimately present in the complete fertilizer base. Qualitative analyses of the precipitate have shown it to contain substantial amounts'of potassium, calcium, magnesium, and of course iron, as indicated by the foregoing, and to carry trace quantities also of copper and zinc.

In the succeeding process step the precipitate is separated from the brine in any desired manner as by centrifuging or filterin and, optionally, washing; The extent to which removal of the salt is necessary Will of course depend upon the soil or crop to which the fertilizer base is to be applied. The precipitate is then oven dried at 105 0., more or less, ground, and stored for the next operation.

In the following phase of the invention process, the nutrient values of the precipitate and of sewage sludge are combined and the cyanide, which is seen to render the precipitate poisonous to plants, is either driven off or converted to desired nutrient values. More particularly, two to fifteen (2-15) parts by weight of the precipitate and two to five (2-5) parts by weight of dried sewage sludge are combined with or digested in say fifty (50) parts by weight of concentrated sulfuric acid, and heated from one to two hours in an acid-resistant still until the liquoris clear. The reactions important to the invention may be represented as follows:

It will be apparent that substantially all of the nitrogen and a like or lesser fraction of the other nutrients contained in the sludge combined in this step are converted to a form available to the plant. It will be readily appreciated also that the deleterious ferrocyanide ions of the precipitate are thus converted to a gas, carbon monoxide, and useful soluble ferrous and ammonium ions.

The steps and reactions thus far described and illustrated are seen to provide for the fertilizer base valuble fractions of the primary nutrients nitrogen and potassium. The phosphorus content is now brought to the desired level by the addition of ten to forty (-40) parts of ground rock phosphate, or of any ground rock of sufficient phosphatic content, which is seen to be rendered soluble by and to neutralizethe acid excess in the liquor produced by the preceding reaction. It will be readily appreciated by those skilled in the art that the desired phosphate content is incorporated into the fertilizer base by combining ground rock phosphate with an acid mixture, as herein described, substantially more cheaply than by adding super-phosphate already compounded as such.

' In the final phase of the invention process, the mixed fertilizer base is enhanced by additions giving it the physical form and soil-building values herein before mentioned as desirable for a superior mixed fertilizer. More particularly twenty-five to thirty (25-30) parts, more or less, by weight of dried sewage sludge are added, slowly, and in the presence of heat, and the resultant final product is evaporated to dryness. It may then be ground and packaged in known manner. It will be appreciated that this later sludge addition-provides the humus, organic and other soihbuilding values desired for the fertilizer base. It will be understood also that the sludge nutrients including the trace elements are appreciably solubilized thereby. Quantitative analyses of the complete product have shown it to contain amounts of calcium, iron, boron, and aluminum, as well as phosphorus measurably greater than the precipitate derived in the first phase of the process.

It will be understood further that the invention is illuminated but not limited by the combining proportions and ranges of proportions recited herein. Similarly, the chemical analysis of the mixed or complete fertilizer base may vary widely in the practice of the invention as desired for or as required by the crop and/or soil to which it is to be applied. It will be appreciated also that the percentage content of one or more of the primary nutrients, particularly potash, may later and elsewhere be increased by the manufacturer, as for a different or greater primary nutrient content in the commercial mixed fertilizer to be compounded from the base; or by the farmer or other base purchaser or user, as desired or preferred for a given crop or soil condition. In other words, the nutrient content resultant in the base from the process weights, strengths, and proportions specified herein may vary and more particularly be deficient or excessive as to one or more of the essential elements and as contrasted with the content indicated for any given application. It is contemplated therefore that where a high analysis fertilizer is to be employed the relatively large primary nutrient content indicated for the mixture as applied or broadcast may generally and readily be effected by the addition of appropriate amounts of nitrogen, phosphoric acid, and/or potash in the manner and form desired.

It will be apparent from the foregoing that the present invention novelly combines the nutrient and soil-building values from sea water and sewage sludge according to a simple and economical process and producing a complete fertilizer base containing the primary, secondary and trace essential elements in significant amounts and in a form available to the plants. It will be understood further that the complete fertilizer product of the invention is comprised substantially entirely of the mentioned nutrient and soil-building values and is relatively free of inert and other carrier materials of no value tothe plant.

It Will be understood that my invention, either as to product or method, is not limited to the exemplary embodiments or steps herein illustrated or described, and I set forth its scope in my following claims:

1. The method of making a complete fertilizer base containing in available form the primary, secondary and also the trace elements essential to plant growth which comprises combinin relatively small weights of ammonium chloride and a soluble ferrocyanide with a relatively large weight of sea water and in the presence of a reaction inducing weight of alcohol to derive a precipitate; separating, drying and grinding said precipitate;

combining the precipitate with an equal or lesser weight of sewage sludge and in the presence of asludge digesting weight of concentrated sulfuric acid; combining with the precipitate and sludge a similar acid neutralizing weight of a ground phosphate; adding thereto a relatively larger weight of dried sewage sludge; and drying and grinding the final product.

2. A mixed fertilizer base comprising primary, secondary and rarer essential element nutrients precipitated from sea water, nitrogen solubilized from ammonia bearing salts, nitrogeneous and divers mineral nutrients extracted from acid digested sewage sludge, soluble phosphate, and physically admixed dried sewage sludge, said mixed base constituting a complete fertilizer ineluding useful quantities of substantially all of the essential elements in a form available to the plant and having also a physical form and chemical content beneficial to the soil.

ERNEST A. SNOW, JR.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 5 280,320 Menard June 26, 1883 517,486 Schenck Apr. 3, 1894 1,228,587 Nash June 5, 1917 FOREIGN PATENTS 10 Number Country Date 1,579 Great Britain July 5, 1856 8,931 Great Britain Apr. 21, 1903 OTHER REFERENCES Bruttini, Uses of Waste Materials, 1923, King 15 and Son Ltd., Westminster, Eng. (pages 206-307). 

1. THE METHOD OF MAKING A COMPLETE FERTILIZER BASE CONTAINING IN AVAILABLE FORM THE PRIMARY, SECONDARY AND ALSO THE TRACE ELEMENTS ESSENTIAL TO PLANT GROWTH WHICH COMPRISES COMBINING RELATIVELY SMALL WEIGHTS OF AMMONIUM CHLORIDE AND A SOLUBLE FERROCYANIDE WITH A RELATIVELY LARGE WEIGHT OF SEA WATER AND IN THE PRESENCE OF A REACTION INDUCING WEIGHT OF ALCOHOL TO DERIVE A PRECIPITATE; SEPARATING, DRYING AND GRINDING SAID PRECIPITATE; COMBINING THE PRECIPITATE WITH AN EQUAL OR LESSER WEIGHT OF SEWAGE SLUDGE AND IN THE THE PRESENCE OF A SLUDGE DIGESTING WEIGHT OF CONCENTRATED SULFURIC ACID; COMBINING WITH THE PRECIPITATE AND SLUDGE A SIMILAR ACID NEUTRALIZING WEIGHT OF A GROUND PHOSPHATE; ADDING THERETO A RELATIVELY LARGER WEIGHT OF DRIED SEWAGE SLUDGE; AND DRYING AND GRINGING THE FINAL PRODUCT. 